All Buick Enclaves are powered by the same turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-4 motor found in its platform siblings, the GMC Acadia and Chevy Traverse. It pumps out a respectable 328 horsepower and 326 lb-ft of torque, which is more than enough to move this massive, 4,700-pound seven-seater from 0 to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds with the help of an eight-speed automatic and optional all-wheel drive. That’s not winning any races, but it’s more than enough for a big three-row SUV. Around town, its sound is rather muted, but every once in a while there’s going to be a grumble of that four-popper under heavy acceleration.
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Where it excels is the highway. Long road trips in this thing are a cinch. The motor returns about 24 mpg, pretty solid fuel economy for something this big without a hybrid motor. Over 1,550 miles of testing, that number actually beats the EPA rating of 19 city, 24 highway, 21 combined.. When factoring in its 21.7-gallon fuel tank, the Enclave can easily go over 520 miles between fillups. Not too shabby for a long, long ride, which is exactly what I did.
You see, my little cousin (who is now 22 and also 6’5″) just graduated from college at Virginia Tech, so I was enlisted to help move his stuff from his apartment in Blacksburg, Virginia, to his childhood home in Northern New Jersey. When I was enlisted for this task, I knew there were two things I’d need out of a car: lots of space and excellent adaptive cruise control. Luckily, the Enclave Avenir has both.
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A real highlight of this car — and most modern General Motors products at this point — is the Super Cruise Level 2 hands-free driving system, a $3,730 option. It makes every other Level 2 system in the industry feel like child’s play. When cruising down the highway, it’s not uncommon to go an hour without needing to touch the wheel or pedals. Of the 1,500-ish miles I drove, at least 1,200 of them were with Super Cruise engaged, and not once did it ever feel sketchy or out of its depth. Set it at 85 mph and forget it. The Enclave Avenir effortlessly wafted me through rural Virginia. It’s quite something.
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Even taking Super Cruise out of the equation, though, the Enclave Avenir is a genuinely nice place to be. I know a lot of effort has been spent over at Buick to shake the coffin car aesthetic it garnered over the years, and this massive crossover certainly does a lot to achieve that. It’s got just the right amount of tech, focused around a massive, curved 30-inch screen that serves as a gauge cluster and infotainment display. I can’t say for sure, but I’m 99% positive this is just the unit GM uses in Cadillacs flipped upside down. In any case, it’s wonderfully easy to use and has enough features to make anyone on a long journey happy. The gauge cluster is also fairly customizable, and the driver can even throw a full-size map in it to help on a long drive. It’s sometimes hard to convey how good an infotainment system is, so I’ll say this: I often found myself using the native system and built-in Google Maps navigation rather than Apple CarPlay because it all worked so well. That speaks volumes if you ask me.
Passengers are also going to find plenty of soft-touch materials and genuinely interesting design shapes and choices inside the Enclave Avenir. All of the leather feels legitimately premium and the metal treatments are actually metal. It’s still not a Cadillac, but it definitely has a fit and finish appropriate for a car that costs $65,125 (including destination) crossover.
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Something else the Enclave Avenir has going for it is some very comfortable front seats. They’ve got a massage function, but it’s pretty meh. Regardless, they’re still very comfy and didn’t leave me feeling sore, even after eight hours of driving.
Oh, and just as an added bonus, everyone I passed on my road trip surely remarked on what a good-looking car the new Enclave is, especially in Avenir trim with my test car’s 22-inch wheels and Ocean Blue Metallic paint. Sure, it’s a massive crossover, but it is a pretty one in my opinion.